SPRINGDALE – Fayetteville quarterback and Arkansas commit Brandon Allen won the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club Player of the Year award on Wednesday.

Allen beat out fellow finalists Shiloh Christian quarterback Kiehl Frazier and Springdale Har-Ber offensive tackle Brey Cook. It was the inaugural player of the year award given by the club, which is also in its first year.

“It’s just an honor,” Allen said. “To be in the running with guys like Kiehl Frazier and Brey Cook – those are some big names right there with a lot of scholarship offers. Those are probably the two biggest names in our class, so it’s a huge honor to be here with them.”

The trio headlined the state’s talented senior class all season and have more than 40 combined scholarship offers. Allen and Cook are verbally committed to Arkansas, while Frazier committed to Auburn earlier this year. Cook, a Scout.com 5-star prospect, will begin classes at the UA in January.

Allen became the first player from the state’s largest classification to pass for more than 10,000 yards in a career. The senior quarterbacked the Bulldogs to a Class 7A runner-up finish by passing for 3,419 yards and 38 touchdowns, and no interceptions in the regular season.

“That was our goal all year was to get to the state game,” Allen said. “To get there and come up short was heart-breaking, but we accomplished a lot this year.”

Allen was a unanimous selection for the award, which was presented by ARpreps.com.

Former Arkansas coach Danny Ford was the keynote speaker at the club’s final meet this year. For more on what Ford had to say, read Clay Henry’s State of the Hogs: Ford Unchanged.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

I will admit it: When Arkansas found itself down 51 to 50 after leading by as many as 17 in the first half and by a dozen at intermission, I was convinced the Hogs were going to lose. Most of the second half was as ugly as all get out, but I think the Hogs showed something by gathering themselves to walk away with a nine-point victory.

The hero of the night was undoubtedly Delvon Johnson, who had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 8(!) blocked shots. It’s early yet, but I don’t know that I’ve seen a Hog player improve so dramatically since Nicky Davis seemingly came out of nowhere to become a rebounding and defensive machine in his senior season of 1998. Kudos to Delvon.

Julysses Nobles also deserves a special mention, as he finished with 19 points and really helped the Hogs build their big first-half lead.

The Hogs look pretty rough at times and halfway decent at times. All in all, about what I expected so far. They seem to have a good spirit about them, and the season is early yet. Here’s hoping some good times are in store during the rest of the year.

ESPN.com’s SEC blogger has consulted his tea leaves, or perhaps a few sources actually in the know (it isn’t entirely clear from his post what he’s basing this on), and says that Bobby Petrino is on Florida’s short list of candidates to replace Urban Meyer.

Says Low:

In his third season at Arkansas, he has the Hogs in a BCS bowl game for the first time in school history. He’s one of the top offensive minds in the game and was on Foley’s radar when Meyer was hired back in 2005. Giving Petrino the keys to Florida’s recruiting machine could be scary for the rest of the SEC. He does have a sizeable buyout, more than $3 million if he leaves before the end of this year. 

Hopefully Hog fans will be able to not go completely insane in the days ahead. We have our doubts though. In fact, we just obtained footage of one frequent message boarder reacting to Low’s report:

Urban Meyer Steps Down (Again)

If I should ever get on Jeopardy and the category of Arkansas Bowl Trivia pops up on the screen, haha, like I am sure that is going to happen, I think I would run through it rather successfully given how much time I’ve spent thinking about this subject, its dark record of failure, its bright few moments of glory.  Unfortunately, I could say, “What is a loss, Alex?” more than a few times. But today I want to concentrate on wins. Gotta start that positive mojo going for the Sugar Bowl. So take a look at this trivia question, think about it, vote your best guess, and then look in the comment section for the answer.

FAYETTEVILLE - Former Arkansas coach Danny Ford will speak at the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club on Wednesday. Lunch begins at 11 a.m. with the program following at noon. The touchdown club meets at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale.

Ford, who was fired from the school in 1997, has made only three trips back to the state since his coaching tenure. His last trip was for the announcement of the Burlsworth Trophy in August, named for former Arkansas player Brandon Burlsworth. Ford is one of the members for that trophy’s board.

The club will also honor the area’s player of the year, coach of the year and newcomer of the year, which will be presented by ARpreps.com.

Player of the year finalists are Fayetteville quarterback Brandon Allen, Springdale Har-Ber offensive tackle Brey Cook and Shiloh Christian quarterback Kiehl Frazier. Allen and Cook are both committed to Arkansas, while Frazier is committed to Auburn.

West Fork coach Rodney Selph will be given the coach of the year award after helping lead his team to an 11-3 record and an appearance in the Class 3A state semifinals.

Bentonville running back Tearris Wallace will be given the newcomer of the year award. Wallace rushed for five touchdowns in his team’s win over Fayetteville last week in the Class 7A State Championship Game in Little Rock.

Tickets for club members are $15 at the door. Tickets for non-members are $25.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas’ basketball team will take on Seton Hall on Wednesday at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.

The game, which is part of the SEC-Big East Invitational, will tip-off at 6 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN2. It will be the first time the Razorbacks have played in the event, which isn’t expected to be renewed for another season.

The event will be somewhat of a homecoming for Arkansas coach John Pelphrey, a Kentucky native. The fourth-year Razorbacks coach played six times at the arena as a collegian at the University of Kentucky.

“It will be good going back there,” Pelphrey said. “It’s a great place to play. It should be a great environment.”

Arkansas (5-1) enters the game on a two-game winning streak following double-digit home wins over Oklahoma and Troy. It will be the Razorbacks’ first game out of the state this season.

Seton Hall is 3-3, but the Pirates will be without leading scorer Jeremy Hazell (24.0 ppg), who suffered a wrist injury earlier this month in a win over Alabama.

“I think they’ve played well at times and obviously they’re going to get better with that as time goes by,” Pelphrey said. “It’s pretty difficult to replace 24 points a game, though.”

The game will be the first of two inside Freedom Hall on Wednesday. Kentucky and Notre Dame will follow.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Former Arkansas coach Danny Ford will speak at the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club on Wednesday. Lunch begins at 11 a.m. with the program following at noon. The touchdown club meets at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale.

Ford, who was fired from the school in 1997, has made only three trips back to the state since his coaching tenure. His last trip was for the announcement of the Burlsworth Trophy in August, named for former Arkansas player Brandon Burlsworth. Ford is one of the members for that trophy’s board.

The club will also honor the area’s player of the year, coach of the year and newcomer of the year, which will be presented by ARpreps.com.

Player of the year finalists are Fayetteville quarterback Brandon Allen, Springdale Har-Ber offensive tackle Brey Cook and Shiloh Christian quarterback Kiehl Frazier. Allen and Cook are both committed to Arkansas, while Frazier is committed to Auburn.

West Fork coach Rodney Selph will be given the coach of the year award after helping lead his team to an 11-3 record and an appearance in the Class 3A state semifinals.

Bentonville running back Tearris Wallace will be given the newcomer of the year award. Wallace rushed for five touchdowns in his team’s win over Fayetteville last week in the Class 7A State Championship Game in Little Rock.

Tickets for club members are $15 at the door. Tickets for non-members are $25.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

With the Hogs merrily on their way to their first BCS bowl appearance, it is pretty hilarious (and pretty satisfying) to review this clip of ESPN windbags hyperventilating about Bobby Petrino in the immediate aftermath of his admittedly, ahem, messy departure from Atlanta.

I vote Sean Salisbury’s comments as the most insufferable. Those who live in glass houses …

FAYETTEVILLE - When Arkansas meets Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, a pair of Razorbacks coaches will get a chance at retribution

Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee and special teams coordinator John L. Smith each spent four years coaching in the Big Ten prior to their arrival at Arkansas. McGee was a position coach and offensive coordinator at Northwestern from 2004-07, while Smith was the head coach at Michigan State from 2003-06.

Though the two went a combined 1-7 during their tenures against the Buckeyes, the familiarity should help in preparation for the Jan. 4 game.

“The memories come back of how they execute and what their style is, and you take those things and present them,” said Smith, now in his second season at Arkansas. “Things haven’t changed, even though some schemes might be a little different. Basically they’re going to play the same. They’re not going to do a billion things. They’re going to be very disciplined and very physical.”

Smith, who also serves as the Razorbacks inside linebackers coach, said Big Ten ball is different than the style played in the Southeastern Conference. Much of that, he said, has to do with the colder climate in the northern states.

“They pride themselves in run the football, run the football, run the football,” Smith said. “I think it’s more of a wide-open game in the SEC. I think the people in the SEC pride themselves on speed, speed, speed, as to where back in the Big Ten they pride themselves in muscle, muscle, muscle.”

That doesn’t mean the “Big Ten is slower” stereotype is true.

“I coached in the Big Ten for four years so I know about (Ohio State),” McGee said. “They run different schemes, but they have athletes on the SEC level.

“You hear people say that the Big Ten is slow, but I know exactly about the speed they have. They will be athletic and fast. Anyone who thinks they are slow is wrong.”

The two coaches’ histories with Jim Tressel go back further than just their days in the Big Ten. McGee (Northern Iowa) and Smith (Montana) were assistants in Division I-AA (now FCS) while Tressel was a four-time national championship winning coach at Youngstown State.

“It wasn’t a good result,” Smith said. “He beat us then, too.

“Coach Tressel does a great job. I don’t think he’s going to give his kids a million and one things to do. They’re going to keep things as simple as they can, but those kids are going to be very disciplined and execute the things they’ve been taught to execute. They’re going to pride themselves on being good enough to beat you one-on-one.”

Arkansas’ resources aren’t limited to just Smith and McGee. Illinois offensive coordinator Paul Petrino and tight ends coach Chip Long each spent the previous two seasons with the Razorbacks. Paul Petrino is the younger brother of Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino.

The Buckeyes beat the Fighting Illini 24-13 earlier this season.

“I’ll try to get as much as I can from Paul,” Bobby Petrino said Sunday. “Certainly they spent an entire week preparing for (Ohio State), but they also watched them throughout the year. You learn a lot about a team when you watch them play the other opponents you’re trying to prepare for.”

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Six Arkansas players earned first- or second-team all-SEC honors Monday, as voted on by the Associated Press.

Tight end D.J. Williams, running back Knile Davis and offensive tackle DeMarcus Love were voted to the first-team, while quarterback Ryan Mallett, defensive end Jake Bequette and safety Tramain Thomas were voted to the second team. Williams, a senior who is also a finalist for the Mackey Award, was a unanimous selection.

“It means a lot,” Williams said. “A lot of postseason accolades and awards have started coming out and it goes back to hard work, not just in the summer, but from the first time I stepped foot on this campus. I’m very humbled about it and appreciative of it.”

The Mackey Award winner will be announced on Wednesday in Orlando. While there, Williams will also be presented the Disney Spirit Award.

“It’s going to be a fun experience,” Williams said. “The greatest part about it is my family has never been to Disney World. It will be their first time and I feel like I get to take them, like the man of the family. It’s something I’m very proud of.”

Love, a fifth-year senior, was a preseason all-SEC selection, but Davis was the one who turned the most heads this season. After Arkansas struggled to run the ball effectively when Dennis Johnson went down with a season-ending injury, Davis began to get most of the workload.

Davis responded with as impressive of a season as any back in the league, rushing for 889 yards and 12 touchdowns in the final six games alone.

Mallett was the preseason pick at quarterback, but finished second to Heisman Trophy front-runner Cam Newton. The Razorbacks signal caller passed for 3,592 yards and tied his school record with 30 touchdowns in the regular season.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

The AP’s 2010 All-SEC team was announced earlier today, and congrats are in order to Knile Davis, D.J. Williams and DeMarcus Love for making the 1st team (D.J. was one of five players to be chosen unanimously), and to Ryan Mallett, Tramain Thomas and Catholic High’s Jake Bequette for making the 2nd unit.

If anyone had placed a decently-sized bet in Vegas on Davis being an all-conference RB before the season started (or after the Alabama game) they’re probably shopping for yachts or property in the Carribbean right about now. Davis’ rise from sporadically used platoon back to all-conference monster (over highly touted competitors such as Mark Ingram or Trent Richardson) has been one of the best parts of the entire season…very nice to see him get the recognition he deserves.

As for snubs, it’s hard to argue against any of the WRs that were chosen, but it’s a little unfortunate that we couldn’t combine our four top guys into one mighty candidate…as it is now, Childs, Adams, Wright and Hamilton are all so good they end up cannibalizing each other’s award chances. It’s a nice problem to have.

So the bowl season is set. All 500 of the games! haha. Well, 35 to be exact. But I am going to walk us through just the ten bowls that have an SEC connection with my gut reaction about the matchup and the SEC’s chances in each bowl game for a victory. After each prediction,I put my level of confidence in my pick on a one to five scale with five being a feeling of metaphysical certitude and one being a Woody Allen level of self-confidence. We’ll go through this chronologically.  

MUSIC CITY BOWL: Tennessee (6-6) vs. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  (7-5) (Dec. 30th): Couldn’t they just move the bowl to Asheville, North Carolina, and meet in the middle? These are both halfway there teams based upon their records, the Vols more than UNC, which has that one additional win. Tennessee backed out of playing UNC for this upcoming season, so it interesting to see the bowl gods throw these two together anyway. The SEC normally doesn’t win this bowl, but my gut is saying they make it to 7-6 due to something good has to happen to the Tennessee program eventually, haha. And bowl games are largely about motivation, and I think Tennessee “wants it more” to use that tired cliche of sports talk. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 4

LIBERTY BOWL: Georgia (6-6) vs. Central Florida (10-3) (Dec 31st): One way to handle SEC East teams in bowl games is to judge them based upon their opponents’ geographical relation to SEC West teams. The closer the opponent is to an SEC West school, the more likely the SEC East team will lose. Central Florida is east of all the western teams, so Georgia has a chance here, haha. I think like last year (Independence Bowl) pride steps up for Georgia and they get a close win. But I think the Hogs took whatever good luck mojo was left for the SEC after last year’s Liberty Bowl escape. Georgia, it could be close. Bring a lot of pride! THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 2.5

PEACH BOWL (yeah, I know its current name): South Carolina (9-4) vs. Florida State (9-4) (Dec. 31st): I look forward to seeing Steve Spurrier face Florida State again, even if Bobby Bowden is no longer on the sidelines and is off trying to talk to “Peggy” about his credit card. I think round two in Atlanta is going to go better for the Gamecocks than round one. Florida State has no Cam Newton to ring their chicken necks in the Georgia Dome. South Carolina finishes off 2010 for the SEC with three bowl victories and gets the Gamecocks to ten wins for the season. Lattimore will have a much better game this go around, and Lord Alshon Jeffrey will colonize the FSU secondary. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 3

OUTBACK BOWL: Florida (7-5) vs. Penn. State (7-5) (January 1st): Meyer, the only SEC coach not to vote Auburn number one in the final poll  (had them at two) doesn’t deserve to hear the SEC chant at the end of this game. And I don’t think he will. Paterno knows a thing or two about going down to the state of Florida and winning bowl games, and I doubt Florida finds an offense between now and 2011. Make it Penn. State 8-5 when this done. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 4.5

CITRUS BOWL (yeah, I know its corporate name): Alabama (9-3) vs. Michigan State (11-1) (January 1st): How would we feel if Arkansas had gone 11-1, best season in recent memory, and still didn’t make the BCS? Rather pissed. And that is what I feel like Michigan State will come to play with, a pissed off attitude, and they’ll give Bama all they want, maybe even a fake field goal. But at the end of the day, Michigan State is a program that lives under a black cloud of Murphy’s Law, and I think some epic goof will take place on their part and Bama secures a narrow victory. The confidence isn’t very high due to memories of Alabama vs. Utah two years ago.  Bama could come out flat as a pancake. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 2 

GATOR BOWL: Mississippi State (8-4) vs. Michigan (7-5) (January 1st): With Michigan’s defense, you have to think the Cowbellers are going to score in this game and score plenty. But so will Denard Robinson! The players on each team certainly want this win, but the factor here is how much does each coaching staff need this win? Michigan and Rich Rod need it way, way more than Mullen and his staff, the princes of Starkville for an 8-4 record and a Florida bowl, their first since WWII. Though I hate to say it, I think the Cowbellers leave Jacksonville with a loss in this one. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 3

SUGAR BOWL: Arkansas (10-2) vs. Ohio State (11-1) (January 4th): First off, I just hate that this bowl isn’t on January the 1st. I am pleased that the Hogs have sold out their allotment of tickets, but the 4th is not a good day for people who work and have kids in school. A Tuesday night? Anyway, I’ll start by saying I am nervous as hell about this game. Both programs have no lack of motivation. OSU looks to beat an SEC team in a bowl game for the first time and get that monkey off their back. The Hogs look to raise their level of college football street cred to a much higher level by going 11-2 and finishing possibly in the top five while beating a Big Ten team in a bowl game for the first time (thanks a lot, Houston!). Right now I am giving the edge to the Hogs based upon these factors. The Hogs have played a tougher schedule, having beaten three teams in the top 25 and five bowl teams. Their enemies have better prepared them than Ohio State’s enemies. If it is a tight game, the Hogs have the experience and confidence from having been in those type of games, MSU and Georgia. Though the Hogs have been gashed at times by the mobile quarterbacks they’ve faced, they do have the experience of facing that type of attack, so nothing new there. The Hogs have Bobby Petrino, who has coached a BCS game before with success. Tressel, of course, has coached in more of them, but also knows how to fail in them. I like that the game is inside a dome unlike the cold of the Liberty Bowl, so weather doesn’t act as an advantage for Ohio State, and Mallett won’t face any wind factors. Finally, I think our fans will be louder than the Buckeyes’s faithful and will have the dome rockin’ when the Hogs are out there on defense. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 1.5  (It would be higher if I didn’t know so well Arkansas’s history in bowl games and the Sugar Bowl in particular.)

COTTON BOWL: LSU (10-2) vs. Texas A&M (9-3) (January 7th): How strange is it going to be to watch the Cotton Bowl on a Friday night? Friday Night Lights, Jerry Jones style, I guess. The Aggies got hot not too long after their game with the Hogs in Arlington. They changed quarterbacks, and that seems to have made a big difference in their overall play. This is a hard one to get a feel for. I could change my mind after more reflection, but right now I think the LSU defense (still a great defense)  finds a way to shutdown the A&M offense just enough for Jordan Jefferson and Jared Lee to get the job done. Besides, the Aggies don’t have very much of a winning tradition right now in Jerry World, thanks to us. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 3

BBVA COMPASS BOWL: Kentucky (6-6) vs. Pitt (7-5) (January 8th): I don’t even know what BBVA Compass is??? Anyway, Kentucky got their 5th bowl in a row, but the Wildcats, I believe, are playing a basketball game that day, so don’t expect much blue in the stands! These two teams are just the opposites in conference records. Kentucky couldn’t hang with the SEC and went 2-6, but Pitt could hang with the Big East and went 5-2. But is hanging with the Big East saying much? haha. South Carolina lost here last year to a Big East team. I say Kentucky gives us the black eye here again with a loss in the heart of SEC country, Birmingham. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 2.5

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Auburn (13-0) vs. Oregon (12-0) (January 10th): Just too much has been going Auburn’s way, from tight games to the NCAA going all soft on them to the hail mary just before the half, so I think the storybook is due for a ripped page for its ending. And the Ducks, I believe, will rip right through that suspect Auburn defense. Yes, many, many points will be scored. And it will come down to the team that has the ball last, which will be Oregon. And Auburn will just not be able to make the last stop, and Oregon wins its first national championshp. Cam Newton will have a hell of a game, but so will LaMicheal James and the Ducks’ offense. The four SEC teams that played in the championship game before Auburn had a stellar defense to count on. Auburn really doesn’t compare to those teams.  And I  think of the two teams, the one most in danger of over-confidence in their mindset is Auburn, and that will be something of a factor in this outcome. “Everything has gone our way. We are the SEC! The SEC always wins this game. Team of destiny, blah, blah, blah.” Hmm, those whom the gods destroy, they first make proud! I think the football gods have set Auburn up for a heartbreaking last second touchdown fall. THE CONFIDENCE SCALE: 3.5 (would be even higher if I knew for certain that Cecil Newton didn’t also make a deal with the devil at some Mississippi crossroads.)

My gut says the SEC goes 6-4 this season.

FAYETTEVILLE - If you had any doubt Bobby Petrino was an elite college football coach, there should be little doubt anymore.

The third-year Arkansas coach has the Razorbacks in a BCS bowl for the first time in school history. In doing so, Petrino – who won the Orange Bowl at Louisville in 2006 – joins Nick Saban (LSU, Alabama) and Urban Meyer (Utah, Florida) as the only coaches to earn BCS bids with two different programs.

“We know a lot about Coach Petrino because he was up this direction at Louisville and had some fabulous football teams,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said Sunday. “He did some extraordinary things in the Big East. We know the quality of that.”

Year three has become the bar for coaches to get their program to a BCS bowl. Saban, Meyer, Les Miles (LSU), Mark Richt (Georgia) and Gene Chizik (Auburn) are SEC coaches who have done so.

Meyer, Tressel and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops won the national championship in their second year at their respective schools. This year’s national championship game features two second-year coaches in Chizik and Oregon’s Chip Kelly.

While Arkansas has yet to make it to that level, the Razorbacks were one of the best teams in a conference that perennially puts its champion in the national title game. That bodes well for the future as long as Petrino stays at the school. The UA must lock the coach into a long-term deal following the season – or even perhaps before the bowl game – as other schools are sure to be intrigued by the Razorbacks’ success.

It’s a testament to the improvement made under the current coaching staff and the quality of leadership it has. From 5-7 to 8-5, to 10-2, Petrino and his staff have proven their worth and ability in the right time.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - The University of Arkansas has already sold out its allotment of 17,500 tickets for the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4.

The school received more than 24,000 pre-orders during a two-week span. Donors to the school’s athletic foundation and season-ticket holders should all receive tickets to the game, according to a press release, but all others will likely be left out in the cold.

“The demand for tickets to the Allstate Sugar Bowl has been far greater than the tickets we were allotted by the bowl game,” Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long said in a release. “We appreciate the tremendous response from the Razorback fans.”

No tickets are listed for sale on the Sugar Bowl’s official website, though several online ticket sites such as StubHub.com have tickets listed for the game.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - One interesting side note heading into this year’s Sugar Bowl will be Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett getting another shot at Ohio State.

Mallett, who transferred to Arkansas in 2008, spent his freshman season at Michigan. Mallett backed up Chad Henne for most of that season, though he did start three games because of an injury and saw action in 11 contests.

That included a 14-3 loss in the rivalry game with Ohio State. In that contest, Mallett completed 1 of 3 passes for 8 yards and was sacked one time.

It will likely be a different story this time around, though, as Mallett has rewritten the Razorbacks record books and helped lead the school to its first BCS bowl bid.

“We are very familiar with Ryan Mallett from his time at Michigan,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “We hoped we were done with him when he transferred and here we are getting him at the height of his career.”

Mallett has passed for 3,592 yards this season and tied his own school mark with 30 touchdowns. The redshirt junior said leading Arkansas to a BCS bowl was a top priority when he decided to turn down the NFL Draft and return to school last winter.

“Everyone knows ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a part of an Arkansas team in a game like this and I’m thrilled for the opportunity,” Mallett said in a release. “I know our fans will be in New Orleans to support us.”

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas is going to the Sugar Bowl.

The No. 8 Razorbacks earned the school’s first ever Bowl Championship Series bid Sunday. Arkansas will face No. 6 Ohio State on Jan. 4 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

Arkansas has already sold out its allotment of 17,500 tickets. The university received more than 24,000 pre-order requests through its website during the last two weeks.

Both teams enter the game with impressive resumes. The Razorbacks (10-2) won six consecutive games to end the regular season, including three wins against BCS Top 25 opponents in the final month.

Ohio State (11-1) is going to its sixth consecutive BCS bowl game and eighth in nine years. The Buckeyes finished in a three-way tie with Wisconsin and Michigan State for the Big Ten championship, but by virtue of the BCS rankings, Wisconsin earned the league’s automatic berth to the Rose Bowl.

Arkansas hasn’t played in the Sugar Bowl since a loss to undefeated national champion Alabama following 1979 season. The Buckeyes last played in the bowl following the 1998 season, but met LSU in the Superdome in the BCS National Championship Game three years ago.

The Razorbacks have played in the game five times, with each contest coming against an SEC opponent before joining the conference. The Hogs’ only win in the bowl came over Georgia in 1969.

It will be the first meeting between Arkansas and Ohio State. The Razorbacks are 1-5 all-time against the Big Ten, including 0-3 in bowl games.

The Buckeyes are 0-9 all-time against SEC opponents in the postseason, with BCS National Championship Game losses to Florida (2006) and LSU (2007).

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

Editor’s Note: Each week Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is one of 60 voters in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. His ballot is published each Sunday in the Slophouse.

1. Oregon

2. Auburn

3. Wisconsin

4. TCU

5. Stanford

6. Arkansas

7. LSU

8. Ohio State

9. Boise State

10. Michigan State

11. Oklahoma

12. Alabama

13. Virginia Tech

14. Missouri

15. Nebraska

16. Oklahoma State

17. Texas A&M

18. Nevada

19. Mississippi State

20. South Carolina

21. Central Florida

22. West Virginia

23. Florida State

24. Tulsa

25. Hawaii

For more visit WholeHogSports.com.

Sweet thoughts, and I don’t mean high fructose corn syrup! haha. Tonight it should be made offical: the Hogs to New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl. The Hogs will return to the Superdome and the Sugar Bowl for the first time since the Lou Holtz era with the opportunity to put eleven wins in the win column and notch their first BCS bowl win. It won’t be Bear Byrant on the other sideline this time, but more likely Senator Tressell from Ohio State. More about him and the Buckeyes for another day. But today, here are some reflections on the Hogs, the Sugar Bowl, Arkansas fans, and the strange quirks and twists of fate that have the Hogs where they are at today.

* When I made a post earlier in the season about all that would need to happen to get the Hogs into a BCS bowl, hmm, I honestly thought it was a stretch. Something was bound to go wrong, as it typically does for the Hogs. And oh how close it all came to not happening for us in Starkville and then in Tuscaloosa where Auburn had to mount an epic comeback and won by just a point. You can say the Hogs walked a tightrope to New Orleans.

* I reflect back to May the 13th, the day I posted that the Hogs would go 10-2 and make it to a BCS bowl. I was off about one of the losses. I had MSU as a loss and Auburn as a win. I didn’t  factor in the fact that Cam Newton was at Auburn, not bought and paid for at MSU! haha. I also thought that the SEC making it to five national championship games in a row was something of a stretch, so I had us in the Orange bowl as an at large.

* Email, twitter, youtube, laptops, facebook, sports blogs, the ESPN networks (ESPN itself was just a few months old), the SEC in its present form, College Gameday, Erin Andrews (not yet two years old), message boards. All of these play a role in our sports world today, but were way off the radar or barely on it back on January the 1st 1980 when Lou and boys lost to Bear Bryant and the Tide 24-9. Being seven years old at the time, the 1980 Sugar Bowl is also the first Hog game I have a real memory of.

* Seeing Gus Malzahn on the sidelines yesterday wearing orange and navy blue, I thought about what Arkansas fans really wanted back in those days when Gus was with the Hogs. And that was to see Houston Nutt truly let Guz run the offense. “Turn Gus loose” as Nutt put it. Well, Gus got turned loose finally, but at another school, and now he is headed to the national championship game in Glendale, Houston Nutt sits on a shakey chair in Oxford, and the Hogs, thanks in part to Gus, are finally headed to a BCS bowl.

* I stayed up late last night in an attempt to soak up the last bit of the regular season before it all went into the history books for 2010. And to do that, I watched USC play UCLA in the Rose Bowl. And do you want to know who got the last snap of the game in a victory formation? Yep, it was Mitch Mustain. His college career ended the day the Hogs secured a spot in the BCS. I even caught a glimpse of him up on a ladder leading the Trojan band. Due to sanctions, he’ll stay home this bowl season with the rest of the USC team. How his football life did change after one bad pass in Columbia, South Carolina in 2006! In his heart of hearts, does he now regret leaving Arkansas? I wonder.  Of course, if he had stayed, there would be no Ryan Mallett breaking all types of records at Arkansas.

* Ben Cleveland stayed and I hope writes a book someday, haha, for he has seen some strange and interesting days in Razorback history. And now he is headed to New Orleans to end his college career in the Sugar Bowl. I hope he catches a touchdown.

* Funny how things work out. Mitch and Guz departing at the end of the 2006 season and then the whole 3 million dollar departure of Nutt to Ole Miss and that horrible Cotton Bowl where we looked like keystone cops out there with Reggie Herring in charge, that all had the bad taste at the time of things falling apart, but they were actually part of something much better being built. There’s a life lesson in that, I think.

* The Hogs won the Sugar Bowl back in 1969 with a 16-2 win over Georgia on January 1st. Ohio State has won the bowl only once as well. Their win is much more recent, 1999 over Texas A&M, 24-14.

* My friend and I discussed over the phone if Mallett would leave after the bowl game. We reluctantly talked ourselves into thinking that this would indeed be his last game as a Razorback. But I think it is also a fitting last game for his legend. No, he isn’t going to win the Heisman, but he has led the Hogs to their first BCS bowl and could very well leave the team with a Sugar Bowl trophy. I would rather he stay around and leave us with an SEC trophy, but a Sugar Bowl trophy isn’t anything to sneeze at either.

* Might it be a tad bit easier for Hog fans to forgive Dyer, Ziemba, and Burns for leaving the Natural State for Auburn now that they helped get the Hogs into the BCS? Maybe.

* After seeing the SEC Championship game, I have to say, “What was I so worried about?” Haha. I thought it would be closer, but post-season on CBS didn’t produce the type of game, a close one, that is normally seen on that network at that time in the regular season. Consider these numbers, the SEC West has a combined 54-19 win / loss record for the year. The SEC East, a pitiful 36-37 record. Three of the East’s bowl teams got in with 6-6 records. Whereas the West has three teams with double digit win totals for the season. The sun rose and set in the SEC West this season.

* BIG PICTURE THOUGHTS: Well, most of this post has been big picture in nature. But I will end by saying that I am very much looking forward to writing my next post-game post about the Hogs in the Sugar Bowl. I just hope that a month off isn’t a month of getting rusty, for I feel like the Hogs that won two Saturdays ago is a team that can compete with the Ohio States of the world. I know New Orleans has its temptations, so I hope the Hogs manage to stay down there without getting anybody suspended for breaking team rules. That worked once in the Orange Bowl, but I don’t think suspending your best players has a very high percentage rate of working in your favor. To all of you who are going to make the trip to New Orleans, travel safely, call the Hogs like never before, and show some Southern hospitality to those Ohio Yankees before and after the Hogs whoop their butts and the SEC chant fills the Superdome.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas is likely going to earn its first Bowl Championship Series bid tomorrow, thanks to Auburn’s 56-17 win over South Carolina in today’s SEC Championship Game.

The No. 7 Razorbacks are the odds-on favorite to receive an invitation to represent the SEC in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4. That spot is reserved for the SEC champion, but No. 1 Auburn will instead play in the BCS National Championship Game.

No. 6 Ohio State (11-1) will likely earn the other invitation to the Sugar Bowl.

Arkansas (10-2) won six consecutive games to end the regular season. The Razorbacks have not played in the Sugar Bowl since Jan. 1, 1980. Arkansas is 1-4 all-time in the game.

The official bowl announcements will be made Sunday afternoon.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

When, several weeks ago, the scenarios required for Arkansas to make a BCS bowl began appearing, they seemed almost too far-fetched to invest much hope in: the Hogs had to beat three ranked teams (two of those games on the road), mighty Alabama had to lose twice and Auburn had to win out. And yet, here we are…heading to the Sugar Bowl to defend the SEC’s honor against perennial conference punching bag Ohio State.

Make no mistake about it – this is a huge step forward for the program. After years of fans fervently hoping for a breakthrough that would usher the Razorback into the top tier of the SEC, it’s finally happened. And, although nothing is certain, they seem poised to make a nice stay there: rather than hoping to occasionally play above their level and knock off a highly-ranked team, they now expect to win every game. Big victories are beginning to feel more like a tough team taking care of business than glorious, out-of-the-blue miracles.

We’ll have much more to say about all that (and the actual game against Ohio State) in the coming weeks, but for now let’s take a breath and savor how far we’ve come in just two years. Very, very impressive.

And, of course, none of this would have been possible without a big win today by our frenemies over at Auburn. Special thanks are due to Cam Newton, Gus Malzahn, Gene Chizik’s sideburns groomer, the mysterious booster who kindly donated the money to help rebuild Cecil Newton’s church, the NCAA compliance investigators and all the other Tigers out there who contributed.

Woo Pig Sooie!

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas went inside and often Saturday and senior center Delvon Johnson delivered in a big way.

Johnson recorded a double-double with 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, and added four blocked shots in a 75-60 win over Troy.

“All I was trying to do was whatever my team needed me to do,” Johnson said. “We were down at first and I tried to bring us back with energy.

“This is my last year as a senior. I’m not holding anything back.”

The Razorbacks (5-1) used a 13-0 run to close the first half and take the lead for good. Marvell Waithe’s putback at the buzzer gave Arkansas a 48-36 halftime advantage.

Clutch free throw shooting helped the Razorbacks stay in the game after falling behind early. Arkansas made 23 of 28 from the line Saturday, including all 12 attempts in the second half.

Arkansas hit 23 of 26 free throws earlier in the week in a win over Oklahoma.

The Razorbacks were whistled for a season-low 12 fouls and Troy attempted only six free throws in the game. Johnson, who has struggled with foul problems all year, committed only two against the Trojans.

“We were able to keep him on the floor,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. “He was a big, big factor for us. He was effective defensively, he was effective rebounding the ball offensively and that’s a big deal.

“We were able to gain an advantage and that was good because that has been a problem up until this week. Being able to play defense without fouling is a weapon.”

Johnson, who hit 6 of 8 free throw attempts, helped the Razorbacks extend their lead before the break. Troy center Bernard Toombs got into foul trouble late in the half. When Johnson found himself matched up with smaller defenders, he attacked.

“My game plan was to go at whoever was guarding me, big or small,” Johnson said. “Whey they had small guards on me, I tried to get them into foul trouble, too.”

Sophomore forward Marshawn Powell, who has been slowed with a foot injury, said Johnson’s play has been key with he and Michael Sanchez less than 100 percent.

“We really don’t have a lot of size when it comes down to the paint,” Powell said. “If he plays like that every game, there’s no telling how far we can go.”

Powell, a preseason all-SEC selection, scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in his most extensive playing time this season for the Razorbacks. Powell has been recovering from a broken foot suffered in the preseason.

“I thought it was the best he looked,” Pelphrey said. “I don’t think he’s too far away. He certainly helps us just being out there. He’s a calming factor and I think he just gives the guys confidence.”

Powell said he felt more comfortable by wearing a new pair of shoes during the game. The black hightops had a plate inserted to add more support.

“It feels good to be running faster,” Powell said. “It’s getting better and healing. I’m just taking it day-by-day.”

Rotnei Clarke scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Razorbacks, while Jeff Peterson added eight points and six boards.

Vernon Taylor scored a game-high 19 points in a losing effort for the Trojans.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Each week we host the podcast for our sister publication Hawgs Illustrated.

This week, HI publisher Clay Henry and I discuss Arkansas’ win over LSU and how it affects the Razorbacks’ bowl picture, and take a look back at the school’s first 10-win season in four years.

You can find the podcast on iTunes by searching “Hawgs Illustrated”.

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For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas hosts Troy on Saturday and welcomes back former player Levan Patsatsia in the process.

No, it’s not as hyped as the return of Sunday Adebayo with Memphis more than a decade ago, but it isn’t every day you see a former Razorbacks player come back to Bud Walton Arena as a member of another team.

Patsatsia was a member of John Pelphrey’s first recruiting class at Arkansas lettered in 2007-08 as a seldom-used reserve. The Georgian-native averaged just 2.1 minutes per game in nine appearances that season before transferring to Pensacola Junior College.

That isn’t the story at Troy, however. Patsatsia is averaging 13.8 points per game for the Trojans (1-5) this season and has started every game.

“He’s a tremendous kid and we’re appreciative of all the things he did for us here,” Pelphrey said. “It’s not all bad sometimes when guys make decisions to go some place else. He’s done very well for himself. It doesn’t mean it’s not unfortunate because it is. He is a big part of their basketball team.”

Troy is coming off a 78-57 loss to Alabama-Birmingham on Monday. Arkansas won’t be the first opponent from the SEC for the Trojans, who lost at Alabama and at Mississippi State in overtime.

The Razorbacks (4-1) are coming off an 84-74 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday. The game against Troy will mark the first weekend game this season at Bud Walton Arena.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Reserved and box seats for Arkansas’ 2011 baseball game at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock are sold out.

The reserved tickets for the March 22 game against Memphis – which went on sale Wednesday night – sold out in less than four hours. Dickey-Stephens Park is the home to the Arkansas Travelers of the Class AA Texas League.

“We knew that it was going to be big but not this big,” said David Kay, Travelers assistant general manager and director of tickets. “Last year there was a lot of excitement and I think people that missed out were ready to go this time around. It just happened really fast.”

There are less than 3,000 tickets remaining for the game. Those $12 tickets are located on the grassy berm in the outfield and in the bleachers down the right field line.

More reserved tickets could come available Jan. 15 when Travelers season ticket holders are given right of refusal, but Kay said he anticipates very few seats to come open.

“People are excited to have this opportunity again,” Kay said. “We’re grateful for the Hogs coming down again. It’s great for central Arkansas.”

The Razorbacks beat Louisiana Tech 5-4 in 10 innings in their first trip to the venue last season. The stadium attendance record was set that night with 9,426 fans on-hand.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

In anticipation of tomorrow’s SEC championship battle between South Carolina and Auburn, we asked Rasputin, our staff soothsayer and a seemingly ageless Russian immigrant, to offer his prediction for the game. Rasputin – who has been banned from numerous golf courses throughout the Southeast for drunkenly harassing the ‘Ol Ball Coach - has been a rabid Razorback football fan since the program’s debut in 1894.

His forecast is after the jump:

FAYETTEVILLE - Three Arkansas football commitments will be on display tonight at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock for the Class 7A Finals between Fayetteville and Bentonville. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m.

Fayetteville quarterback Brandon Allen and tight end Demetrius Dean, and Bentonville offensive lineman Marcus Danenhauer are all committed to the Razorbacks.

Allen has made Arkansas fans take notice in recent weeks, helping lead the Bulldogs to the title game with back-to-back comeback wins over West Memphis and Fort Smith Southside. In last week’s semifinals game, Southside scored a touchdown with 55 seconds remaining, but Allen led Fayetteville back down the field for a three-play drive in the final minute that resulted in a touchdown pass for a 24-21 win.

Allen is just 187 yards shy of 10,000 for his career. He is the 7A’s all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns (95), and didn’t throw an interception in the regular season.

Allen – along with Springdale Har-Ber offensive lineman and Arkansas commit Brey Cook, and Shiloh Christian quarterback Kiehl Frazier – is a finalist for the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club Player of the Year, which will be awarded next Wednesday.

Danenhauer has helped Bentonville (12-0) back to the championship game for the second time in three years, despite undergoing a quarterback change in mid-season and starting two sophomore running backs. One of those running backs, Tearris Wallace, could be on the Razorbacks’ radar after a breakout campaign that included a 283-yard, 6-touchdown performance against Rogers Heritage.

The Tigers beat the Bulldogs 38-34 in overtime in their regular season meeting. It marks the fifth consecutive year two teams from the 7A-West have met in the state championship.

Fayetteville won the state title in 2007, while Bentonville won in 2008.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas football picked up its 24th commitment of the 2011 class late last night from Phoenix College linebacker Alonzo Highsmith (6-2, 215).

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Highsmith is the son of former University of Miami and NFL running back Alonzo Highsmith. He is the fourth commitment from the state of Arizona in this recruiting class for the Razorbacks.

Verbal commitments are non-binding. National Signing Day for football is in February.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas punter Dylan Breeding is one of 55 nominees for the Rudy Award, recognizing “football players who demonstrate exemplary character, courage, contribution and commitment as team members”.

Breeding, a sophomore, was nominated by the UA. He is averaging 42.4 yards per punt, including 14 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

Earlier this season Breeding was nominated for the inaugural Burlsworth Trophy, recognizing college football’s best player who began his career as a walk-on.

The Rudy Award will be given out on Jan. 11 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. Fans can vote for nominees by visiting CollegeRudyAwards.com.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Our friends at Hawgs Illustrated have partnered for Premiere Sports Travel and put together a travel package to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

No. 7 Arkansas might play in the game, depending on the result of this weekend’s SEC Championship Game between No. 1 Auburn and No. 19 South Carolina. The deposit for the trip is $99 and is refundable if the Razorbacks end up playing in a different bowl game.

You can read more about the travel package here.

As part of the package, fans will receive a ticket to the game, invitation to a pregame party and two nights hotel at either the Queen & Crescent or Westin Canal, as well as a shuttle around New Orleans.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Scanning a half-empty (or was it half-full?) crowd made it easy to spot some famous people at last night’s Arkansas-Oklahoma basketball game at Bud Walton Arena.

In attendance were Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer and Jim Counce from the 1978 Final Four team, and Clint McDaniel from the Razorbacks’ 1994 national championship team.

Scotty Thurman, who hit the shot to give Arkansas the lead for good in the 1994 national championship game, was on the bench in his first year as director of player development. Thurman was partially responsible for gathering the legends at the game, he said Wednesday while speaking to the Northwest Arkansas Tip-Off Club in Springdale.

Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said following the game it was important to have former players attending games and being around the program.

“Those guys are a huge part of what make it special to be a Razorback,” Pelphrey said. “We are so proud of our past and we celebrate it. I’m glad those guys were here. I’m certainly glad we could perform well enough to get a win. Those guys set a standard pretty high and we all try to live up to it.”

Now, the University of Arkansas needs to take it a step further and recognize the players by hanging several of their jerseys in the rafters of Bud Walton Arena. There are currently no jerseys hung at the arena, though Moncrief’s No. 32 and Corliss Williamson’s No. 34 have not been worn since they left the program. Others like Thurman, Brewer and Todd Day are among those deserving of such an honor from the school.

With Arkansas’ history in basketball and showcase of an arena, it’s shame this hasn’t been done already. Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, Duke’s Cameron Indoor Arena, North Carolina’s Dean Smith Center and UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion have rafters littered with jerseys from the past. While Arkansas doesn’t quite meet the standards those programs have set, it does have a rich basketball history with six Final Four appearances and a national championship trophy.

Not to mention, a ceremony celebrating one of the Razorbacks’ legends of the past would sell tickets – something the school desperately needs with crowds filling less than half the arena this year.

But for now, just having them back is a nice starting point. Here’s to hoping it is taken a step further, and soon.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Beating a 3-4 foe from a power conference might not sound like much, but the SEC West will take whatever it can get on the hardwood these days.

So Arkansas picked up its division’s signature win to this point on Wednesday night, downing Oklahoma 84-74 at Bud Walton Arena. The win improved the SEC West to 22-14 on the young season.

While the football division is strong, the basketball side of things has been anything-but this year. The division’s teams have suffered embarrassing defeat after embarrassing defeat this year to the likes of Nicholls State, Samford, Campbell, Florida Atlantic, Dayton and St. Peter’s.

The Razorbacks (4-1) haven’t been immune to tough losses, falling 70-65 in overtime to Alabama-Birmingham last Friday in North Little Rock. But the Blazers have made postseason noise in recent years, so that loss fails in comparison to some others in the west.

All the while, the league’s eastern division is collectively strong. Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgia are all expected to compete for NCAA Tournament bids this season, and are a combined 30-7 thus far.

The win over the Sooners was a fairly convincing one for the young Razorbacks. Despite being outrebounded by nearly double, Arkansas controlled the pace of the game by hitting 51 percent of its shots and scoring 28 points off 22 turnovers.

The Razorbacks committed just 12 turnovers in the win and hit 23 of 26 free throw attempts.

Oklahoma led briefly in the game’s first minute, but never afterward. Arkansas at one point stretched its lead to 17 points in the second half and never let the Sooners within seven points after the intermission.

It was as dominant a performance against quality competition as the SEC West has seen this season and leaves the Razorbacks tied with Mississippi State for the best record early in the season.

If Arkansas can continue to build on wins like Wednesday night’s and return injured players to full-strength, it isn’t too much of a stretch to think a season of rebuilding might just yield some hardware in the end.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Rotnei Clarke scored 20 points and Arkansas trailed only briefly in a 84-74 win over Oklahoma Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena.

The Razorbacks (4-1) held off several Sooners runs in the game’s final minutes for its second win in three years over its border rival. Arkansas led by as many as 17 points after staking a six-point halftime lead.

Jeff Peterson scored 15 points and added five assists for the Razorbacks, while newcomers Marvell Waithe (eight points, six rebounds), Rickey Scott (five points) and Mardracus Wade (eight points, two steals) each had the best games of their young careers.

“Tonight was a team victory,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. “Everybody did a little bit of something to help us win.”

Clarke hit 3 of 5 attempts from 3-point range and became the fastest player in Arkansas history to hit 200 3-pointers in a career. Arkansas hit 5 of 11 from beyond the arc as a team after going 3-for-21 in its last game.

Andrew Fitzgerald scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a losing effort for the Sooners (3-4).

Arkansas hit 28 of 55 of its field goal attempts and scored 28 points off 22 Oklahoma turnovers.

It was a nice turnaround after Arkansas hit just 38 percent of its shots in an overtime loss to Alabama-Birmingham last Friday in North Little Rock.

The Sooners stayed in the game thanks to a large rebounding margin. Oklahoma outrebounded Arkansas 42-23, holding the Razorbacks to just seven rebounds after halftime. The Sooners had 22 second-chance points on 18 offensive rebounds.

Arkansas continued to be short-handed in the frontcourt. Preseason all-SEC forward Marshawn Powell was limited, scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds in just 12 minutes as he continues to recover from a preseason foot injury. Michael Sanchez missed his fifth game of the year with a foot injury of his own.

“Right now we’ve got two of our better front court players that aren’t healthy,” Pelphrey said. “We aren’t going to make any excuses, though. We’re going to make the best of what we’ve got and go out there with it.

“Rebounding is something we’re struggling with. When somebody is leading us with six rebounds, it’s not good.”

Free throw shooting helped Arkansas keep the Sooners at a distance, however. The Razorbacks hit 23 of 26 charity tosses on the night.

An estimated 10,047 attended the game. It was the largest crowd this season at Bud Walton Arena.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

In a game that will no doubt be remembered as fondly and vividly as the Hogs’ 1978 Orange Bowl upset of Oklahoma, the Razorback hoopsters defeated their Sooner counterparts 84 to 74 tonight in Bud Walton Arena. OK, so this game probably won’t live in Arkansas history. But for those 48 of us still paying attention to the basketball team, it was an encouraging win nonetheless.

Granted, this Sooner squad won’t be confused with the early 70s UCLA Bruins any time soon, but it was good to see the Hogs bounce back strongly from their semi-comatose effort last Friday against UAB. The Hogs led by as many as 17 in the second half.

From the ”no surprises” file, sharpshooter Rotnei Clarke led the way, scoring 20 points while making 7 of 12 from the field. Other highlights include the team’s making 23 of its 26 free throws, its field-goal percentage of 50 percent, Jeff Peterson‘s 15 points, and solid efforts by Peterson’s fellow newcomers Marvell Waithe, Mardracus Wade and Rickey Scott.

Now if only Marshawn Powell could fully recover from his foot injury, this season could yet turn out to be an interesting and enjoyable one.

For those of you who watched the game, what are your thoughts on tonight’s win and the season thus far?

Jim Harris on the Hogs’ Bowl Options, History

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas and Oklahoma meet tonight at Bud Walton Arena, but it doesn’t have the same appeal as when these two storied basketball programs have met in the past.

Both programs have come upon hard times in the last couple of years. Following a trip to the Elite Eight two seasons ago, Oklahoma failed to make the postseason last season and lost several of its top players following the season.

Arkansas has had back-to-back losing campaigns and has failed to draw more than 7,000 fans to an on-campus game this year.

Despite coming back from seven points down with just more than a minute to play last Friday, the Razorbacks were unable to beat Alabama-Birmingham, falling 70-65 in overtime at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock. It was an ugly game for Arkansas (3-1), which shot 38 percent from the floor, including 3 of 21 from 3-point range.

The Sooners (3-3) are coming off a week-long break after losing three straight in their trip to the Maui Invitational last week to Kentucky, Virginia and Division-II host school Chaminade. It’s is a young team, and as Bob Holt pointed out in this morning’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Oklahoma has just one senior and nine newcomers this year.

“Any win for us right now would be big,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said earlier this week.

The match-up is the last in the current four-year agreement between the two schools, though Razorbacks coach John Pelphrey said he wouldn’t rule out the border rivals renewing the series next season.

Arkansas leads the all-time series 13-11, though Oklahoma has won six of the last seven meetings, including a 67-47 win last year.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas’ bowl picture became a lot more clear on Tuesday.

Texas A&M accepted a bid to play in the Cotton Bowl, meaning that bowl is likely out of play for the Razorbacks, who played the Aggies at Cowboys Stadium earlier this season. Expect either LSU or Alabama to get the bid from the SEC to that game now.

Arkansas remains an attractive candidate for the Sugar Bowl if Auburn beats South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game this weekend. Sugar Bowl Chief Executive Officer Paul Hoolahan talked about potentially hosting the Razorbacks earlier this week on “Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly“.

“If I have an opportunity to replace the SEC champion I have to say Arkansas is a very attractive candidate at this stage,” Hoolahan said. “But I also have the first pick (among BCS bowls). We’ll see how that goes but there are a lot of good football teams.

“I would put Arkansas in the very desirable option category, but we’re not in a position to do anything until we vote and then we have to go through the whole selection process.”

That process will begin Thursday when the Sugar Bowl’s executive board of 24 members meets to go over scenarios for this weekend’s games.

“We will basically put before them the scenario as we see it to exist in terms of all the possible outcomes following Saturday’s games and list those options as they develop with alternatives,” Hoolahan said. “We will basically have a consensus agreement and that’s how we will proceed.”

If it isn’t the Sugar Bowl for the No. 7 Razorbacks (10-2), Tuesday’s developments make it appear a match-up against No. 10 Michigan State (11-1) in the Capital One Bowl is the most likely postseason game.

Arkansas has played in that bowl twice, the most recent of which came in 2006. The Capital One Bowl gets first pick among SEC teams that don’t receive BCS bids.

All bowl selections will be made by Sunday afternoon and announced on a bowl preview on ESPN that night.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

Reports are that Texas A&M has accepted an invitation to the Cotton Bowl, January the 7th. Since the Hogs played them earlier in the year and will play them again next fall, you can count on the Cotton Bowl not offering the Hogs if Auburn (gasp!) should lose in the SEC Championship game. LSU or Alabama would be more attractive for a game against the Aggies. The Capital One Bowl could choose Alabama over the Hogs, for it would put Saban against his old Michigan State team and would bring the Tide to a bowl they haven’t been to since 1995. Though the Hogs have a better record than the Tide, the Capital One people could point out that the Tide beat the Hogs and that they are the former National Champions with a Heisman winner on the team. So where would that put the Hogs? The Outback bowl in Tampa is a possibility. It is a January 1st bowl game, and the Hogs would get a Big Ten team, possibly Iowa. And the Hogs have never played in that bowl. Of course, if we don’t get the Sugar that is going to be a big let down for all of us. Dropping even further below the Capital One to possibly the Outback Bowl (I hate these corporate names!) would even be more of a downer. I am sure he is not feeling it, but from a Razorback point-of-view, more pressure on that son of a preacher man to get the job done in Atlanta for all of us Hog fans.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas released its 2011 baseball schedule Tuesday.

The schedule features seven games against teams that made the College World Series a year ago, including defending national champion South Carolina. In addition to the Gamecocks, Arkansas will play LSU and Georgia – all three of which have played for the national championship the last three seasons.

Arkansas begins the season with 11 consecutive games at Baum Stadium, including weekend series against Delaware State, Utah and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

There aren’t a lot of marquee nonconference match-ups this year, though Oklahoma does come to Baum Stadium for a midweek game in April. Arkansas also returns to playing regional games in Tulsa against Oral Roberts and Springfield against Missouri State. The Razorbacks didn’t play those games last season.

Arkansas returns to Dickey Stephens Ballpark in North Little Rock for the second consecutive year with a game against Memphis over Spring Break. The two teams will meet again the next night at AutoZone Park in Memphis.

Originally thought to be playing in a tournament at Petco Park in San Diego, the Razorbacks will play a four-game series against San Diego State in March. The Aztecs are coached by National Baseball Hall of Fame member Tony Gwynn.

While the full TV schedule hasn’t been released, the Razorbacks will face Florida on May 5 in the ESPNU SEC Baseball Thursday Night Game of the Week.

2011 Arkansas Baseball Schedule

Feb. 18         Delaware State

Feb. 19         Delaware State

Feb. 20        Delaware State

Feb. 25        Utah

Feb. 26        Utah

Feb. 27        Utah

March 1      McNeese State

March 2     McNeese State

March 4     Wisconsin-Milwaukee

March 5     Wisconsin-Milwaukee

March 6     Wisconsin-Milwaukee

March 10      San Diego State

March 11       San Diego State

March 12       San Diego State

March 13       San Diego State

March 15    Kansas

March 18      Auburn

March 19      Auburn

March 20      Auburn

March 22      Memphis#

March 23      Memphis%

March 25    Vanderbilt

March 26    Vanderbilt

March 27    Vanderbilt

March 29    Oklahoma

April 1            Alabama

April 2           Alabama

April 3           Alabama

April 6        Texas State

April 8        LSU

April 9        LSU

April 10      LSU

April 13         Missouri State

April 15       Mississippi State

April 16       Mississippi State

April 17       Mississippi State

April 19         Oral Roberts

April 22         Kentucky

April 23         Kentucky

April 24         Kentucky           

April 26      Saint Louis

April 29         Georgia

April 30         Georgia

May 1             Georgia    

May 3           SE Missouri State

May 4           SE Missouri State

May 5           Florida

May 6           Florida

May 7           Florida

May 13           South Carolina

May 14           South Carolina

May 15           South Carolina

May 17         Tennessee-Martin

May 19         Ole Miss

May 20        Ole Miss

May 21         Ole Miss

May 25-29     SEC Tournament^

June 3-5         NCAA Regionals

June 10-12     NCAA Super Regionals

June 18-29     College World Series

Bold denotes home games.

# Game played at Dickey Stephens Ballpark in North Little Rock

% Game played at AutoZone Park in Memphis

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - ‘Tis the season for football coaching rumors.

Today’s came from Arkansas where Internet chatter suggested Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino would be getting a raise and contract extension. While the third-year coach likely will rework his contract following the season, it won’t be happening before postseason play, according to a statement from UA athletics director Jeff Long.

“Coach Petrino is focused on preparing for our upcoming bowl game, recruiting and building on the ongoing success of the program,” Long said in the statement through UA Media Relations. “We are excited about the achievements and direction of Razorback Football and look forward to continued success in the years to come with Coach Petrino leading our program.”

Petrino is currently in the third year of his contract, which runs through 2014. The worth of the contract is $2.85 million annually.

Locking up Petrino long-term would be a great move for Long. With several coaching positions coming open across the country, Petrino’s name is sure to come up on some wish lists this off-season.

Arkansas has already made several improvements to its football program since Petrino was hired in December 2007. The school is currently in the middle of fund-raising for a new football operations building that will cost between $24-35 million.

Petrino is 23-14 at Arkansas, including 10-2 this season. The No. 7 Razorbacks are awaiting word on which bowl they will play in – perhaps the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

The Hogs continue to peak at the right time, soaring to their highest-ever (on our ballot, at least) Power Poll slot:

1. (1) Auburn – For his next trick, Cam Newton will spot South Carolina a 50-0 lead, then lead his team to eight straight TDs in the 4th quarter. 

2. (4) Arkansas – The Hogs can beat anyone at this point. We would really, really like to replay those Alabama and Auburn games with the emergent Knile Davis.

3. (5) South Carolina - The biggest mismatch in the SEC Championship Game might be Spurrier vs Chizik. Not a fair fight.

4. (2) LSU – Playing on turf in Little Rock, Les Miles ran out of grass-eating miracles.

5.  (3) Alabama – We’re still trying to process the fact that Bama lost three conference games this year.

6. (6) Mississippi State – Whichever school hires Dan Mullen for next year will be lucky to have him.

17. (7) Florida – Starting here, we bumped everyone 10 slots down in the poll to reflect the difference between the top and bottom halves of the conference. Florida, quite frankly, sucks this year.

18. (8) Georgia – They beat Georgia Tech! Yea!

19. (10) Tennessee – After a rough couple of years, the Vols are beginning to show faint glimmers of hope for the future.

20. (9) Kentucky - Lost to Tennessee for the 25th straight time. Incredible.

21. (11) Ole Miss - Now we can sit back and watch the Jimmy Sexton-based rumors fly about all the schools that are throwing job offers at Houston Nutt.

22. (12) Vanderbilt - Guys, it makes everyone else in the SEC look bad when you lose to Wake Forest.

Doc Saturday on Petrino, Mallett and the Hogs

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett is one of 10 finalists for the Manning Award, presented to the nation’s best quarterback following postseason play.

Mallett and Auburn’s Cam Newton are the only quarterbacks from the Southeastern Conference on the list. Other notables include Stanford’s Andrew Luck, Boise State’s Kellen Moore, TCU’s Andy Dalton and Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor.

Mallett has passed for 3,592 yards and 30 touchdowns, with 11 interceptions this season. On Saturday the second-year starter set the school record for career touchdown passes (60).

Earlier this month Mallett was not named one of the three finalists for the Davey O’Brien Award.

Mallett is the second Arkansas player to be named a finalist for an individual award this season. D.J. Williams is one of three finalists for the Mackey Award, given to the nation’s best tight end.

Also Monday, the Broyles Award announced its five finalists for the nation’s best assistant coach. Razorbacks offensive coordinator Garrick McGee, one of 36 nominees, was not on the list, though two former Arkansas and current Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was. TCU defensive coordinator Dick Bumpas, a former Arkansas player, was also one of the finalists.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

Ryan Mallett as Vanilla Ice?

FAYETTEVILLE - It seems to be pretty cut and dry that if Auburn beats South Carolina in this weekend’s Southeastern Conference Championship Game, the Tigers will play for the national championship and Arkansas will go to the Sugar Bowl.

But what happens if the Gamecocks upset No. 1 Auburn? It isn’t too much of a stretch to think that might happen. After all, South Carolina led the Tigers by 13 points in their meeting earlier this season, before falling 35-27.

A South Carolina win would send the Gamecocks to the Sugar Bowl as the SEC champion representative, while the Tigers would likely still earn a BCS bid in either the Orange or Rose Bowls, or perhaps even still play for the BCS championship.

For No. 7 Arkansas, it would be a bitter pill as Razorbacks fans seem to have their hearts set on a new year in the bayou. There are likely two destinations for Arkansas under the scenario: the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, and the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.

The Cotton Bowl seems to be the most likely choice if Arkansas doesn’t earn the first BCS bid in school history. It is a bowl the Razorbacks have plenty of history with and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the second largest out-of-state alumni base for the University of Arkansas.

Arkansas has played in the Cotton Bowl 11 times, the most recent of which came following the 2007 regular season. The Razorbacks lost that game to Missouri.

That bowl likes to take teams from the SEC West. While LSU and Alabama are certainly attractive candidates because of their histories and large fan bases that are sure to travel to the game, the Cotton Bowl would have a tough time justifying taking one of those teams over Arkansas, based on the way the three finished their respective seasons.

The opposition there would be a team from the Big 12 – likely the loser of this week’s league championship game at Cowboys Stadium between Oklahoma and Nebraska. Arkansas has played both of those teams in the Cotton Bowl, losing to Oklahoma following the 2001 regular season and beating Nebraska on Jan. 1, 1965 to earn the school’s only national championship.

Oklahoma State and Texas A&M would be other potential candidates to represent the Big 12 in that game, but the Cowboys played there last season and a match-up between the Razorbacks and Aggies seems unlikely, given the two schools are in the midst of a 10-year contract at the stadium.

If the Cotton Bowl were to want a team other than Arkansas, the Capital One Bowl would almost assuredly take the Razorbacks. Arkansas has played in that bowl game twice, the most recent of which came following the 2006 regular season. Arkansas lost that game to Wisconsin.

The Big 10 representative in that game will likely be Michigan State. The Spartans finished the regular season 11-1 and in a three-way tie for its league championship with Wisconsin and Ohio State.

The No. 5 Badgers are likely heading to the Rose Bowl, while the No. 6 Buckeyes seem destined for the Sugar Bowl. That leaves the No. 10 Spartans the odd man out of the BCS games for a league celebrating one of its best regular seasons in quite some time.

Arkansas is heading to a good bowl game following its 10-win season. Just which bowl and just how good will be determined Saturday.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas linebacker Jerico Nelson was named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Nelson, a junior, recorded 11 tackles – including two for loss – in the Razorbacks’ 31-23 win over LSU Saturday at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium. Nelson added a sack and a hurry of Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson, his former teammate at Destrehan High School in Louisiana.

Arkansas held LSU to 294 yards of total offense in the win, including a season-low 100 rushing yards. The Tigers were twice held to field goals when they took possession inside Razorbacks territory.

It marks the second consecutive week an Arkansas defensive player has earned the SEC award, with Jerry Franklin doing so following a 20-tackle performance against Mississippi State the week before. Safety Tramain Thomas was also named defensive player of the week following the Razorbacks’ win over Texas A&M earlier this season.

Prior to this season an Arkansas player hadn’t won the award since 2006.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

One of my favorite things about the Hogs’ win over LSU on Saturday was that, as KevinHog put it, no miracle was required. Sure, things did get a little wacky there at the end of the first half, but overall it was a solid, end-to-end victory. It was the kind of solid win that a BCS-bound team should produce (and that the Hogs have traditionally managed to let slip away in the past…see the 2006 LSU game for reference). LSU is a good team and put up a tough fight, as expected, but in the end there was no doubt about who was better.

Other thoughts:

* as a Little Rock guy now living far away, I always get a particular thrill from seeing War Memorial on national TV. I went to many Razorback games there as a boy, and my high school (Go Rockets) played there as well. Love that place.

* I’m guessing both teams were a little too wound up at the start of the game…the first quarter was exceedingly sloppy all around. I kept picturing people from around the country seeing the Hogs and Tigers for the first time and thinking “these teams are supposed to be good?”

* it wouldn’t be an Arkansas-LSU game without a little crazy, and the sequence to end the first half was about as crazy as it gets: LSU fumble deep in their own territory + Arkansas interception in the end zone + Les Miles actually leaving too much time on the clock with an incredibly short possession + that insane Ryan Mallett/Cobi Hamilton bomb as time expired…all in about two minutes of game time. Dizzying!

* Props to Alex Tejada for making a couple of potentially game-saving tackles on Patrick Peterson‘s painfully long kickoff returns.

* Although it didn’t feel like a great thing at the time, the decisive point of the game was when LSU took over on the Hogs’ 9 yard line after Dylan Breeding‘s muffed punt in the 3rd quarter. Instead of letting the Tigers roll in for an easy TD and the lead, the Razorback defense stiffened with three consecutive great plays: a touchdown-saving open field tackle on a screen pass, stuffing a run up the middle for no gain and batting away the corner fade pass on 3rd down. From that moment on, it was all Arkansas.

* Continuing the theme of the above point, the defense played its best game of the year. Hats off to them (and especially SEC defensive player of the week Jerico Nelson). LSU had just 71 yards of offense in the second half.

* After the aforementioned defensive stand, the offense rose to the occasion with two of the best drives I can remember from an Arkansas team: first, an 11 play march that culminated in Mallett’s triumphant 39 yard TD pass to Joe Adams on 4th down (and featured a couple of huge 3rd down conversions before that), then, after a quick stop by the defense, a smashmouth masterpiece that featured nine straight butt-kicking runs by Knile Davis and Broderick Green.

* Les Miles must have still been a little sleepy from too much Thanksgiving turkey, because we never even saw a glimpse of the wackiness that’s made him famous. LSU had several opportunities to go for it on 4th down and never did…in fact, it was Bobby Petrino who broke the game open with that ballsy 4th down call on the TD pass to Adams.

* Cobi Hamilton is a proud Texarkana native, but he must feel a special connection with Little Rock: in his two SEC games at War Memorial the speedy WR has caught TD passes of 85, 80, 64 and 58 yards. And, he made the game-clinching recovery of LSU’s last minute onside kick. Not too shabby.

* I alluded to this in the intro, but in 2006 the highly-ranked Hogs took on the highly-ranked Tigers in War Memorial with a BCS bowl on the line and managed to lose in typically Nutty fashion. Very nice to come full circle and close it out this time.

* Final thought: when was the last time the Razorbacks had a win this big? Submit your suggestions in the comments section, because I’m having trouble thinking of one.

Editor’s Note: Each week Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is one of 60 voters in the Associated Press Top 25. His picks are published each Sunday in the Slophouse.

Tom Murphy, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, AP poll, Nov. 28

1. Oregon

2. Auburn

3. Wisconsin

4. TCU

5. Stanford

6. Arkansas

7. LSU

8. Ohio State

9. Boise State

10. Michigan State

11. South Carolina

12. Nebraska

13. Oklahoma

14. Alabama

15. Oklahoma State

16. Missouri

17. Virginia Tech

18. Texas A&M

19. Nevada

20. Florida State

21. Mississippi State

22. Tulsa

23. West Virginia

24. Northern Illinois

25. Hawaii

For more visit WholeHogSports.com.

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas moved up five spots to No. 7 in this week’s Bowl Championship Series standings, released Sunday.

The Razorbacks (10-2) are coming off a 31-23 win over LSU in Little Rock on Saturday in the regular season finale. The Tigers were ranked No. 5 at the time but fell to No. 10 following the loss.

Arkansas was ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll, which were released earlier in the day.

It appears the Razorbacks are the front-runner to earn the Southeastern Conference’s bid to the Sugar Bowl if Auburn beats South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game next weekend. The Tigers are ranked No. 1 in the BCS this week, while the Gamecocks are No. 19.

Sugar Bowl president David Melius said following the Arkansas-LSU contest it would like to host the Razorbacks if the SEC champion ends up playing for the national title.

“They’ve had a great year and we’d be thrilled to have them,” Melius said. “If the opportunity comes, we would love to have Arkansas.”

Ohio State appears to be the likely opponent for whatever SEC team plays in New Orleans. The No. 6 Buckeyes (11-1) have earned a BCS bid five consecutive years and seven of the last eight.

Arkansas and South Carolina have never earned a BCS bid, while Auburn earned its last in 2004.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.